Smokey Robinson is set to play his first UK show in over 15 years next summer in East Sussex.
The Motown icon, 84, will play a headline set at the Love Supreme jazz festival in Glynde Place in the South Downs, which will run from July 4 to 6. You can find your tickets here.
Alongside Robinson will be a range of names from across the musical spectrum, including En Vogue, Thee Sacred Souls, Branford Marsalis, Sampa The Great, Jamila Woods, War, Arooj Aftab and Durand Jones & The Indications.
Last month, Love Supreme also announced that their Sunday night headliner would be the neo-soul singer and producer Maxwell.
Smokey Robinson is considered one of the most influential songwriters and soul singers of all time, fronting the key Motown band The Miracles, who had hits with the likes of ‘The Tracks Of My Tears’ and ‘Tears Of A Clown’.
He also wrote a litany of classic songs for other artists, including ‘My Girl’ and ‘Get Ready’ for The Temptations, ‘Ain’t That Peculiar’ for Marvin Gaye and ‘My Guy’ for Mary Wells.
Robinson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and was awarded the 2016 US Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for his lifetime contributions to popular music.
Earlier this year, Robinson confirmed that he was in talks to play at Glastonbury 2024, although this did not come to fruition. “That’s one of the things we’ve been talking about,” he said, adding that he would “absolutely” love to take the stage at the Worthy Farm festival. “I love the UK, man. We’ve had some of our greatest times in the UK.”
Last year, he responded to a viral TikTok highlighting his curiously-titled 2023 album, ‘Gasms’. “Okay guys, I figured it’s time for me to comment on the comments that I’ve been getting about calling my album ‘Gasms’,” he said. “‘Gasms’ is any good feeling you might have. Get your mind off of sex, because that’s what you’re connecting it to.”
“‘Gasms’ is not only a sexual word. It’s a word that means ‘whatever makes you happy,’” he continued. “And people are saying, at my age, I shouldn’t be talking about ‘gasms’– you know, I still have gasms! And I hope I always do. So I just wanted to kind of clear that up for you guys who are thinking or making negative comments about it, and all that.”